Sometimes I get the feeling the aspirin companies are sponsoring my headaches. V.L. Allineare
Headaches - Treatment With Surgery or Drugs
It is not an easy task in deciding which method of treatment to use in dealing with headaches. Drugs, surgery, and other natural methods are all possible treatments for headaches sufferers. Your condition, your level and type of pain, and your doctor's recommendations will all help you determine the appropriate treatment.
There's no unique correct answer to which option, surgery or drugs (or some other), is best. The answer depends on individual factors, not least of which is the specific condition the patient suffers from that produces regular headaches.
The causes of migraines, for example, are not well understood. Currently, surgery is rarely used. But when the underlying cause is, for example, a brain tumor or cancer, surgery may well be the best course of treatment. For the majority, treatment with triptans and other drugs continues to be the most common route.
Cluster headaches - intense, but usually short-lived pain behind the eye or temple that occurs regularly for weeks or months, then disappears - is rare and mysterious. But researchers are leaning toward the view that some abnormality in the hypothalamus is responsible. Radiotherapy techniques are beginning to be used to treat the condition, with some success, which promises to eliminate any need for surgery.
Currently heavy doses of pure oxygen breathed for a few minutes at the onset of symptoms is the most common treatment. In this sense, the oxygen is performing the role of a drug.
Even ordinary or tension headaches can be treated with surgery in some cases. When the headache is the result of misalignment, it's possible to correct the condition surgically. For a type often misdiagnosed, sinus headaches, the condition that produces pain may be the result of a deviated septum. When that is so, surgery has been used in some cases to correct what is in essence a mild birth defect.
For the vast majority of tension-type headaches, over the counter drugs continues to be the preferred option. This is sensible when the headaches are mild, relatively infrequent or responsive to those medications. In more severe cases, the treatment options become muddier.
In all these instances, good diagnosis is vital. CT (Computer Tomography) scans, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and blood tests continue to be among the best tools available.
With a dynamic, 3-D image of the head it's possible to visually detect a very wide range of possible circumstances. After years of research, those are well correlated in many cases with a specific, treatable condition. Combining that information with blood tests provides a very full set of data about any chemical or physical abnormalities.
Naturally, only a physician can provide the proper tests and analysis. In the case of severe, repeated headache episodes - since the condition is often neurological at base - it is, unfortunately, often necessary to seek the advice of one or more specialists.
There are risks associated with drugs as well as with surgery. Adverse side affects can be serious and are associated with medicine. Surgery carries it's own unique risks. An informed doctor who is up to date on the latest research can evaluate all options and help you determine the appropriate course of action. Maintaining a headache diary will help your doctor in this process.
But how exactly those conditions translate into something we perceive as pain is still a matter of leading edge research.
Though quality standards and active ingredients are required by law to be the same for any manufacturer, large pharmaceutical companies are more than just efficient marketing organizations. Those with a liver or kidney disease, too, should consult a doctor before taking ibuprofen. The effects are not the same as overdose from other drugs, but in large doses it can interrupt proper kidney function, for example. Ironically, certain headache medications (Excedrin, for example) contain caffeine.
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